Attorneys for the first man scheduled for execution in Oklahoma in six years have filed his petition for clemency.
John Marion Grant’s hearing before the Pardon and Parole Board is Tuesday morning. His attorneys contend he experienced extensive abuse and neglect at the hands of both his mother and state actors after being sent to juvenile institutions, places he ended up because he stole food and clothing to help his eight siblings.
His attoneys say that mistreatment led to him killing a prison employee after they ended a personal relationship with him.
"John Grant never had a chance in life due to the severe abuse he suffered first at the hands of his mother and later in state-run institutions in Oklahoma whose horrific mistreatments are a well-documented scandal. Yet he is deeply remorseful for his actions and has worked to redeem himself while incarcerated," said attorney Sarah Jernigan. "We are hopeful that Oklahoma will give him a second chance by showing mercy, allowing him to live the remainder of his life in prison instead of being executed."
The state plans to kill Grant on Oct. 28.
Oklahoma’s last execution was in 2015, when Charles Warner was given a drug not listed in the state’s protocol.
In the execution before that, in April 2014, Clayton Lockett writhed on the death chamber table for several minutes after lethal injection drugs were administered. The IV that delivered the drugs was not placed into a vein, so they were not injected into Lockett's bloodstream.
